Insulators for multiple-conductor connectors

ABSTRACT

The product is a multiple-bore rigid insulator of thermosetting material with a multiple-bore elastomeric grommet united therewith. The rigid insulator is placed in a mold with multiple core pins extending from the multiple bores thereof through a mold cavity. The face of the rigid insulator is coated with uncured thermosetting adhesive and then, with the mold heated, uncured elastomeric material is extruded under heat and pressure into the mold cavity to form the grommet around the core pins and to bond the resultant grommet to the face of the insulator. When the product is ejected from the mold and from the core pins, the grommet assumes a desirable tapered configuration.

United States Patent Meyn [451 Aug. 1, 1972 [54] INSULATORS FOR MULTIPLE- 3,108,898 10/1963 Nitzsche et a1. ..117/75 CONDUCTOR CONNECTORS 2,188,317 l/ 1940 Seaman ..161/241 X 2,937,968 5/1960 Sauer ..161/241 X [72] Invent Meyn 3,450,594 6/1969 Hennessy ..l61/184 [73] Assignee: Microdot Inc., Los Angeles, Calif. 3,519,465 7/1970 Lyles ..117/47 [22] filed: 1969 Primary Examiner-Robert F. Burnett [21] Appl. No.2 886,965 Assistant Examiner-Robert A. Dawson Attorney-Smyth, Roston & Pavitt Related US. Application Data [62] Division Of Ser. NO. 541,162, April s, 1966, [57] ABSTRACT Pat. No. 3,525,786. The product is a multiple-bore rigid insulator of thermosetting material with a multiple-bore elastomeric [52] US. Cl. ..l74/l38 R, 156/242, 156/245, grommet united therewith. The rigid insulator is 156/330, 156/332, 161/109, 161/184, placed in a mold with multiple core pins extending 1 1/135 1 1 203 1 1 231 1 1 233 from the multiple bores thereof through a mold cavity. 1 1 247 The face of the rigid insulator is coated with uncured 51 int. Cl ..B32b 3/10,C09j3/14,H01b17/32 thermosetting adhesive and then, with the meld 53 Field f Search 15 2 244, 5 329, 332, heated, uncured elastomeric material is extruded 156/330; 161 M09" 184, 208, 231, 233, 247, under heat and pressure into the mold cavity to form 174/145 152 G 138 R the grommet around the core pins and to bond the resultant grommet to the face of the insulator. When [56] References Cited the product is ejected from the mold and from the core pins, the grommet assumes a desirable tapered UNITED STATES PATENTS configuration- 3,022,l96 2/1962 Jenkins et al. ..1 17/27 11 Claims, 3 Drawing Figures INSULATORS FOR MULTIPLE-CONDUCTOR CONNECTORS This is a division of application, Ser. No. 541,162 filed Apr. 8, 1966 now U.S. Pat. No. 3,525,786, by John E. Meyn and assigned to the same assignee as the instant application.

This invention relates to the fabrication of an object comprising two plastic bodies bonded together with the strength of the bond greater thanthe strength of the materials of the two bodies. The initial practice of the invention is directed specifically to the problem of providing a multiple bore insulator with an extension in the form of an elastomeric grommet bonded integrally thereto. I

Such an assembly of the two united bodies enclosed by a suitable metal sleeve structure is commonly employed in a multiple-conductor electrical connector with either pin elements or complementary socket elements mounted in the multiple bores. It is desirable that the insulator which forms the base portion of such an assembly be relatively rigid and strong but that the grommet which forms the forward portion be made of yieldable elastomeric material. For this reason, it is desirable to mold two bodies of two different materials, the insulator being made of rigid material such as epoxy resin and the grommet being made of a suitable elastomer such as silicone rubber.

One problem to be met in the fabrication of such a composite structure is to provide a joint or bond between the two different bodies that is at least as strong as the material of the two bodies. Another problem is to eliminate any possibility of voids at the interface of the two bodies. Since the materials selected for the insulator and the grommet respectively are of dielectric strength that greatly exceeds the dielectric strength of air, any air-filled space at the interface is a serious defect that may result in voltage flashover between the closely spaced conductors.

A third problem is to bond together a multiple-bore insulator and a complementary multiple-bore grommet with accurate alignment of the two sets of bores. Since multiple-conductor connectors are commonly of compact design with closely spaced conductors, permissible tolerances are necessarily restricted. For example, such a composite body of an overall diameter of 0.750 in. may be provided with 61 bores, the diameter of the matching bores at the interface being 0.054-0.056 in., with the bores arranged in staggered rows with centerto-center spacing in each row of 0.080-.082 in., the perimeter-to-perimeter spacing of the bores in a row being 0.024.028 in. It is difficult to preform the two bodies and then match the two sets of 61 bores with acceptable precision and especially so for quantity production at economical fabrication cost.

The solution to these problems is found in certain concepts which work together for the purpose of the invention. One concept is that the task of bonding the insulator and grommet together may be simplified by first molding the insulator and then using the insulator as part of a mold for forming the grommet, the grommet being in effect molded against the insulator. A second concept is to employ a suitable adhesive at the interface of the two bodies as a primer coat, the primer coat being compatible with the materials of both bodies to make possible a bond of especially high strength. A third concept is that elimination of voids at the interface may be prompted by employing two successive primary coats, the first coat being cured in advance to fill in minute surface depressions and to provide a smooth surface for the application of the second coat.

Another concept is to take advantage of the fact that injection molding of the grommet against the insulator inherently results in elevated temperature and high pressure at the interface so that any prime coat that is present at the interface is subjected to such heat and pressure. Under heat and pressure a suitable primary coat that iscompatible with the materials of both of the two bodies creates fusion at the interface to make the joint between the two bodies stronger than the materials of the two bodies. Still another concept is that injection molding of the grommet against the insulator is possible if the insulator is made of a thermosetting resin that is capable of withstanding the heat and pressure, for example, epoxy reinforced by embedded glass fibers.

A further concept is that in the operation of molding the grommet extension, the insulator may serve in effect as a jig to hold multiple cores for molding the multiple bores in the grommet. Thus core pins may extend through the insulator into the grommet to form the multiple bores in the grommet. A still further concept is to mount the core pins in the mold in a floating manner with an appreciable degree of freedom for lateral movement of the individual core pins, to make the core pins capable of self alignment with the bores in the insulator.

An unexpected advantage of the invention relates to the difficulty that is usually encountered in telescoping a snug fitting sleeve or ferrule over the grommet. If the grommet is made of a material such as silicone rubber that shrinks as it cures in the mold, the fact that one end of the grommet is anchored face-to-face to the rigid insulator results in the grommet tapering towards its outer end. This taper greatly facilitates telescoping a sleeve or ferrule over the grommet.

Another advantage of the invention is that the core pins may be circumferentially recessed or grooved to result in the formation of restrictions in the bores of the grommet. Since the grommet is made of elastomeric material the resilient restrictions function in the same manner as small O-rings to form seals around the conductors or contact elements that are inserted into the bores.

The various features and advantages of the invention may be understood from the following detailed description and the accompanying drawing.

In the drawing, which is to be regarded as merely illustrative:

FIG. 1 is a side elevation of the presently preferred embodiment in the invention, the view being partly in section;

FIG. 2 is an end elevation of the embodiment shown in FIG. 1; and

FIG. 3 is a simplified sectional view of apparatus that may be employed for the molding operation.

The selected embodiment shown in the drawings is a composite body for use in a multiple-conductor electrical connector, the composite body comprising an insulator 10 with a grommet 12 bonded thereto to function as an extension thereof. The insulator 10 is a rigid body of substantial strength and is preferably made of a suitable thermosetting resin which in this particular example is epoxy reinforced by embedded glass fibers. Other materials that may be employed include diallyl phthalate, melamine, phenol formaldehyde resin and alkyd molding compounds. The grommet 12 is made of silicone rubber but other commonly known elastomers may be used such as butyl, nitrile, neoprene, SBR, EPR, or natural rubber.

The composite body has a plurality of bores extend ing longitudinally through both the insulator and the grommet 12. As shown in section in FIG. 1, each bore 114 of the insulator 10 is of stepped configuration forming an inner circumferential shoulder 15 and each of the matching bores 16 of the grommet is of the stepped down diameter. Preferably, each of the bores 16 of the grommet is formed with a circumferential restriction 18 which by virtue of the resilientyieldability ofthe material of the grommet functions in the manner of an O-ring. Thus in an electrical connector a contact element having a ferrule or enlargement as its base end may be mounted in the composite body with the ferrule or enlargement in abutment with the shoulder 15 and with the contact element, for example, a pin element, extending through the grommet and embraced in a sealing manner by a restriction 18. v

The outer circumferential surface of the insulator 10 may be formed with three longitudinal grooves 20 by means of which it may be keyed to a surrounding metal casing. It is to be noted that the grommet 12 is of tapered configuration to facilitate the insertion of the grommet into an encircling casing.

To carry out the contemplated method of fabricating the composite body shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the insulator 10 is molded in advance in any suitable manner and then the forward face of the insulator is coated with a suitable primer in the form of an adhesive that is compatible with both the epoxy material of the insulator and the silicone rubber of the grommet. In this particular practice of the invention, a mixture of the following ingredients and parts by weight is employed:

diallyl phthalate 90 parts diallyl phthalate monomer 10 parts tertiary butyl perbenzoate 5 parts toluol 150 parts methyl ethyl ketone 50 parts When the therrnosetting resin mixture is-stirred into the solvent with a high-speed mixer, the resultant is an adhesive solution containing approximately 33% percent solids.

In the preferred practice of the invention, two coats of the primer are applied to the forward face of the insulator and the first coat is cured on the insulator by baking in an oven for 15 minutes at 300 F. The cured first coat fills all of the minute depressions in the face of the insulator and serves as an anchor coat with a smooth surface to receive the second coat. The second coat is applied to the anchor coat and is not cured prior to the molding operation. If desired, only one coat may be employed, the coat being left uncured prior to the molding operation.

For the purpose of the present invention, it is within the skill expected in the art to select other adhesives to be used as primers to bond together other bodies made of materials. For example, if the insulator 10 is made of melamine and the grommet 12 is to be made of butyl rubber, the primer may be an epoxy adhesive with a curing agent such as primary aromatic amine.

To carry out the further steps of the preferred fabrication procedure, a suitable molding apparatus is employed, for example, a molding structure of the character shown more or less diagrammatically in FIG. 3.

The structure shown in FIG. 3 includes two lower base plates 22 and 24 positioned face to face with a cylinder 25 removably resting on the upper base plate 22 and with the three parts keyed together by dowel pins 26 extending upward from the lower base plate 24. The cylinder 25 is dimensioned for smooth fit by the preformed insulator l0 and is of an axial dimension sufficient for-the cylinder to cooperate with the insulator to form a mold cavity 28 of the size and configuration of the desired grommet 12. The mold cavity 28 is covered by a pair of separable shutoff plates 30 having a plurality of sprue passages 32. A second cylinder 34 rests on the shutoff plates 30 to fonn a pot to receive the material that is to form the grommet. Both the shutoff plates and the pot are removable and both are releasably retained concentric to the lower cylinder 25 by means of a plurality of dowel pins 35 that extend upward from the lower cylinder 25. The molding apparatus is completed by a suitable ram 36 that is dimensioned for a snug sliding fit in the pot or upper cylinder 34.

For the purpose of forming the required multiple bores in the molded grommet 12, a plurality of suitable core pins 40 extend upward through the mold cavity 28. In the construction shown in FIG. 3, the lower ends of the core pins 40 are formed with heads or enlargements 42. In the preferred practice of the invention each core pin is further formed with a circumferential groove or recess 43.

The lower base plate 24 is cut away on its upper surface as indicated at 44 to clear the heads 42 of the core pins and the upper base plate 22 is formed with bores 45 for the core pins that are smaller than the heads 42 of the core pins but slightly larger than the shanks of the core pins. A feature of the invention is the concept of making the bores 45 of the upper base plate 22 sufficiently larger than the shanks of the core pins 40 to make the core pins floating, i.e., to give the core pins a slight degree of freedom for lateral movement thereby to permit the core pins to align themselves freely with the corresponding multiple bores of an insulator 10 when the insulator is placed in the mold structure.

In the construction shown, the upper ends of the core pins 40 are pointed and seat snugly in corresponding tapered recesses 46 in a shutoff plate 30. Thus, the tapered r ecesses 46 in the shutoff plate cooperate with an insulator 10 and the base plate 22 to maintain alignment of the core pins.

In preparation for the molding operation, the mold structure shown in FIG. 3 is preheated, for example, to a temperature of 320 F. For this purpose, the mold structure may be placed on the hot platens of a hydraulic press which is used for the molding operation.

When the mold structure is heated to the required temperature, it is moved from the press and is taken apart to make the interior of the lower cylinder 25 accessible. A pre-molcled insulator with its forward face primed with the selected adhesive material is then lowered into the lower cylinder 25 to cause the multiple bores of the insulator to telescope over the corresponding core pins 40. The shutoff plates 30 are then mounted on the lower cylinder 25 and then the upper cylinder 34 ismounted on the shutoff plates. A charge 48 of silicone rubber is then placed in the pot that is formed by the upper cylinder 34 and the ram 36 is moved downward to force the charge through the sprue passages 32 into the mold cavity 28. The volume of the charge of silicone rubber is somewhat greater than the volume of the mold cavity 28 after the mold chamber is completely filled.

Initial downward movement of the ram 36 to extrude the silicone rubber into the mold cavity 28 is carried out at a pressure of approximately 700 p.s.i. and after the mold cavity is completely filled, the pressure applied by the ram 36 is increased to 1,000 p.s.i. and is held at that level for seconds. Pressures will vary with different size parts. At the end of the 15 seconds, the pressure applied by the ram 36 is allowed to drift for a cure period of approximately 5 minutes and then the molded product is removed from the mold structure and from the core pins. As soon as the composite body is removed from the mold structure it is placed in an oven at 350 F. for an 8-hour final cure period. The final product may then be cleaned and inspected.

The heat and pressure involved in the described procedure of injection molding the grommet against the forward face of the insulator causes fusion of the materials at the interface between the insulator and the grommet to result in the desired high-strength bond.

The silicone rubber that forms the grommet 12 shrinks as it cures but the shrinkage is opposed by the face-to-face bonding of the grommet to the insulator. As a result, the grommet assumes the highly desirable tapered configuration that cannot be duplicated by any other molding technique. It is to be noted that, although the grommet is tapered longitudinally, the bores in the grommet are of uniform dieter because of the presence of the core pins during the cure period.

My description in specific detail of the presently preferred practice of the invention will suggest various changes, substitutions and other departures from my disclosure within the spirit and scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In combination,

a rigid insulator of plastic material, the insulator being selected from a group consisting of epoxy reinforced by embedded glass fibers and melamine, and

a cured thermosetting elastomeric material bonded to the rigid insulator to provide a joint between the plastic insulator and the elastomeric material that is at least as strong as the material of the plastic insulator and the elastomeric material, the elastomeric material being selected from a group 6 consisting of silicone rubber and butyl rubber, and an adhesive between the rigid insulator and the elastomeric material and selected from a group 2. The combination set forth in claim 1 wherein the elastomeric material is a silicone rubber.

3. The combination set forth in claim 1 wherein the adhesive is disposed between the insulator and the plastic material to bind the insulator and the elastomeric material, the insulator comprising epoxy reinforced by embedded glassfibers and the elastomeric material comprising silicone rubber.

4. The combination set forth in claim 1 wherein the adhesive comprises the mixture of epoxy adhesive and primary aromatic amine and the insulator comprises melamine and the elastomeric material comprises butyl rubber.

5. In combination,

a rigid insulator of plastic material with at least one end face and with at least one bore through the material, the insulator being selected from a group consisting of epoxy reinforced by embedded glass fibers and melamine;

a thermosetting adhesive selected from a group consisting of a mixture of diallyl phthalate and butyl perbenzoate and a mixture of epoxy adhesive and primary aromatic amine; and

a cured thermosetting elastomeric material bonded to the rigid insulator and the thermosetting adhesive to provide a joint between the plastic insulator and the elastomeric material that is at least as strong as the material of the plastic insulator and the elastomeric material, the elastomeric material being provided'with a bore matching the bore in the rigid insulator, the elastomeric material being selected from a group consisting of silicone rubber and butyl rubber,

the thermosetting adhesive having properties compatible with the materials of the insulator and the elastomeric material.

6. The combination set forth in claim 5 wherein the elastomeric material is a silicone rubber.

7. The combination set forth in claim 5 wherein the adhesive comprises essentially diallyl phthalate.

8. The combination set forth in claim 5 wherein, the material of the elastomeric material is silicone rubber and the material of the insulator is an epoxy reinforced by embedded glass fibers.

9. The combination set forth in claim 5 wherein the adhesive comprises the mixture of epoxy adhesive and primary aromatic amine and the insulator comprises melamine and the elastomeric material comprises butyl rubber.

10. The combination set forth in claim 8 wherein the insulator and the elastomeric material have aplurality of aligned bores.

11. The combination set forth in claim 9 wherein the insulator and the elastomeric material have a plurality of aligned bores. 

1. In combination, a rigid insulator of plastic material, the insulator being selected from a group consisting of epoxy reinforced by embedded glass fibers and melamine, and a cured thermosetting elastomeric material bonded to the rigid insulator to provide a joint between the plastic insulator and the elastomeric material that is at least as strong as the material of the plastic insulator and the elastomeric material, the elastomeric material being selected from a group consisting of silicone rubber and butyl rubber, and an adhesive between the rigid insulator and the elastomeric material and selected from a group consisting of a mixture of diallyl phthalate and butyl perbenzoate and a mixture of epoxy adhesive and primary aromatic amine.
 2. The combination set forth in claim 1 wherein the elastomeric material is a silicone rubber.
 3. The combination set forth in claim 1 wherein the adhesive is disposed between the insulator and the plastic material to bind the insulator and the elastomeric material, the insulator comprising epoxy reinforced by embedded glass fibers and the elastomeric material comprising silicone rubber.
 4. The combination set forth in claim 1 wherein the adhesive comprises the mixture of epoxy adhesive and primary aromatic amine and the insulator comprises melamine and the elastomeric material comprises butyl rubber.
 5. In combination, a rigid insulator of plastic material with at least one end face and with at least one bore through the material, the insulator being selected from a group consisting of epoxy reinforced by embedded glass fibers and melamine; a thermosetting adhesive selected from a group consisting of a mixture of diallyl phthalate and butyl perbenzoate and a mixture of epoxy adhesive and primary aromatic amine; and a cured thermosetting elastomeric material bonded to the rigid insulator and the thermosetting adhesive to provide a joint between the plastic insulator and the elastomeric material that is at least as strong as the material of the plastic insulator and the elastomeric material, the elastomeric material being provided with a bore matching the bore in the rigid insulator, the elastomeric material being selected from a group consisting of silicone rubber and butyl rubber, the thermosetting adhesive having properties compatible with the materials of the insulator and the elastomeric material.
 6. The combination set forth in claim 5 wherein the elastomeric material is a silicone rubber.
 7. The combination set forth in claim 5 wherein the adhesive comprises essentially diallyl phthalate.
 8. The combination set forth in claim 5 wherein, the material of the elastomeric material is silicone rubber and the material of the insulator is an epoxy reinforced by embedded glass fibers.
 9. The combination set forth in claim 5 wherein the adhesive comprises the mixture of epoxy adhesive and primary aromatic amine and the insulator comprises melamine and the elastomeric material comprises butyl rubber.
 10. The combination set forth in claim 8 wherein the insulator and the elastomeric material have a plurality of aligned bores.
 11. The combination set forth in claim 9 wherein the insulator and the elastomeric material have a plurality of aligned bores. 